I decided to start a blog for my private practice to offer a portal to the process of psychotherapy. For decades therapy has been stigmatized, mostly by those who have never had therapy before or by people who are considering therapy and are still on the fence. I titled my blog “I’m not crazy–Am I?” because it is such a common question I get from new clients. They wonder if simply by going into therapy they are automatically branded by the mental health profession as “crazy”. I like to respond to that question with another question, of course I do, I am a therapist after all. I ask them what “crazy” means to them. For most of them they are feeling that they are one stressful situation away from being committed to a psychiatric unit. I let them know that I understand that is how they “feel” right now. I assure them that I don’t believe that they are “crazy”. Personally my definition of crazy is lifted from the 12 Step Recovery program, they use the word “insanity” instead of “crazy” but it is a definition that I believe is spot on. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.” Many of the people who come to me have tried to remedy their struggles alone or by confiding in a friend or family member and still are stuck in the same spot. They decide to come in and do something that makes them uncomfortable, sets them up for potential stigmatization from other people and moves them out of their normal means of problem solving by entering therapy. So, my pat answer for someone who is seeking therapy and wondering, “I’m not crazy–Am I?” I say, no, absolutely not.
Visit my practice website www.maryjacksonleelcsw.com
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